Tiller for outboard motors



June 2%, 1923. 11 ,459,734

L, J; JOHNSON TILLER FOR OUTBOARD MOTORS Filed Feb. 13 1922 fig 2 I I 3v11/1 ///7 Q o ATTORNEY.

atent June 26, 1923. I

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Application flledl'ebrnary 18, 1922. Serial No. 536,819.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, Louis J. JonNsoN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Mishawaka, in the county of St. Joseph and a State ofIndiana, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Tillers forOutboard Motors, of'which the. following is a specification.

The invention relates to tillers for out- V board motors of the typeused on small craft, to the t pe wherein the and particularl motor ispivota 1y mounts and movable in a horizontal, plane, and pivoted fortilting in a vertical plane; Heretofore tillers for motors of thischaracter have been rigid and when the motor is tilted in averticalplane,

' such for instance as when the boat on which to the motor in a verticalplane, the tillers bethe invention to the outboard motor is mountedenters shoal water, which causes a pivotal movement of go with anobstruction and will be limited in its downward movement. Also vtoprovide means whereby the tiller may be moved to a position where itwill fold downwardly to a position adjacent the motor. I

With the above and other objects in view the invention resides in thecombination and arrangement of parts as hereinafter set forth, shown inthe drawings, described and claimed, it being understood that changes inthe precise embodiment of the invention may be made within the scope ofwhat is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

lin the drawings Fi re 1 is a top plan view of the outboar motor,showing the tiller applied thereto.

Figure 2 is a sectional view through the stern of a conventional form ofboat, showing the motor applied thereto, and the tiller:

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view through one side of the tilleryoke.

Figure i is a top plan view of the inner end 0d? the tiller, showingclamping cleat remove Referring to the drawing, the numeral 1 designatesthe engine of the outboard motor and 2 a downwardlytextending shaftcasmg carried thereby, which shaft casing is prvotally mounted in thebearing member 3 in such a manner" that the motor maybe rotated in ahorizontal plane. The bearing member 3 is pivotally connected at 4 tothe 'clamp 5 secured to the stem 6 of the boat 7 thereby allowing theoutboard motor as a whole to be tilted in a vertical plane, for instancewhen going over shoal water, so that the propeller driven by the motor,which propeller is not shown, will clear the bottom of the stream. Thecasin 2 is provided with segmentally sha d anges 8, which flanges engageover anges 9 carried by a block 10 in the slotted segment 11, that iswhen'the motor is rotated for reversing the direction of movement of theboat 7. It will be seen that the outboard motor may swing in ahorizontal plane during the steering operation of the boat, and may betilted in a vertical plane on the pivotal oint 4 as desired. It has beenfound that w en boa-ts having motors of this character run into shoalwater, the motor is tilted by engagement with the bottom of the stream,and

that rigidly fixed tillers carried thereby come into en gement withparts of the" boat, usually t e rear seat 12, thereby causing thetiller'to bend or break, or the shaft ing or casing 2 to be bent ordamaged.

Extending forwardly from the forward side. 13 of the motor 1 is ahorizontally disposed tl-sha ed oke 14, on the transverse portion 15 oWlllCh the tiller 16 is pivotally mounted, and is also slidably mounted,but frictionall held on said portion 15, thereby allowing the tiller toswing upwardly in the direction of the arrow at, and at the same time,under pressure, to be moved transversely on the portion 15 of the yoke1a. The

tiller 16 comprises a right angled shaped member 17, the arm 18 of whichis provided with a semi-circular recess 19 for the reception of theunderside of the transverse portion 15 of the yoke and with a rearwardlyextending. arm 20 having a semicircular recess 21 for the reception ofone of the side arms 22 of the forms means for limiting the downwardmovement of the tiller 16 and also forms means when in engagement withthe arm 22,

whereby the outboard motor as a whole may yoke 14. T he arm 20 be tiltedin a vertical plane, for instance when the boat is goin throughshoalwa'ter and is beingmoved or steering purposes. If the motor issuddenly tilted by engagement of the lower end thereof with the bottomof a stream, the tiller 16 when it comesinto engagement with the seat 12or any other obstruction will be forced upwardly,

isclaimed as new and usefu thereby allowing a full movement of the motorin vertical plane without being limited by the engagement of the tillerwith the seat, as clearly shown in dotted lines in Figure 2. The tilleris frictionally held on the transverse portion 15 of the yoke 14 bymeans of the plate 23, which arches the upper side of the portion 15 andis secured by means of screws 24'to the arm 18 of the member 17. It willbe seen that by adjusting the screws 24 that the frictional en agementof the tiller with the portion 15 o theyoke 14 may be varied. Byslidably mounting the tiller on the portion 15 of the Ivoke, it will beseen that by tilting the til er 16 upwardly until its arm 20 is out ofengagement with the arm 22 of the yoke 14, that the tiller can be movedinwardly, for instance to the dot-' ted line position, shown in'F i ure1, at

which time the tiller may be tllted downwardly to a position where itwill be-close to the-casing'2 of the motor, in which posi means forlimiting the downward movea transversely disposed bar carried motor anda pivotedtiller handle s'lidably ment of the tiller in a vertical planeand means whereby said tiller may be moved transversely and swungupwardlyand downwardly in a vertical plane.

2. The combination with an outboard motor movable in a vertical andahorizontal plane, of a tiller for controlling said motor 1n itsmovement, said tiller being pivotally connected to the motor and movableupwardly ina vertic'al' plane, limiting means for limiting the downwardmovement of the tiller, and means whereby said tiller may be movedtransversely and swung downwardly to a position adjacent the motor.

3. Thecombination with an outboard motor movable in a vertical and ahorizontal plane, of a tiller for controlling the motor in its movement,said tiller comprising a right angled member, the arms of which haverecesses, a U-shaped yoke carried by the motor, the transverse portionof the yoke being disposed ina recess of one of the arms, the arm of theyoke being disposed in a recess of the other arm of the tiller, a memberarching the transverse portion'of the yoke, and having adjustablecon'nect-ions with one of the arms of the tiller thereby forming apivotal and a slidable connection between the tiller and the yoke, and ahandle member extending outwardly from the tiller arms.

4. The combination with an outboard motor supported on a boat, saidmotor being pivotally mounted and movable a substantial distance in averti al plane, said motor being movable in a h rizontal plane, of atiller for said motor, said tiller com rising by the mounted on thetransversely disposed bar and movable in a vertical plane independent ofthe movement of the motor.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

LOUIS J. JoHNsoN.

